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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CapnZapp" data-source="post: 7818090" data-attributes="member: 12731">I find that the thing you want from a "gimmick point" system is narrative control. The ability as a player to say "my character knows this, he manages". But in D&D the ability to say "My expertise is combat, let me handle it" makes no sense, since everything about D&D is geared toward actually playing out the combat in great detail, with large effort put towards everyone sharing the spotlight equally. In newer iterations of D&D every hero automatically knows combat and is expected to manage an about equal share of the glory.Plus: combat is dozens of checks. Social and exploratory often hinges on the one roll, or half a dozen rolls at most. (Not to mention what Gumshoe et al has discovered, namely that investigative rolls are not meant to fail at all)So.Inspiration in combat makes no sense. Not only do you affect one out of twenty rolls, you don't need it to help bring out your character. Hitting and missing in combat is a fact of life equal to all heroes. Combat is strictly controlled and balance is paramount.What separates one hero from the other is the abilities OUTSIDE combat. I might play the super sneak, whose reputation would be ruined if he somehow failed at a crucial character-defining pickpocketing attempt, or maybe to sneak past the guards. You might play a self-described casanova and value the ability to not fail at seducing Countess Ivanova. The party druid might feel her concept would be tarnished by not befriending that owlbear. And so on.But Inspiration only gives you a reroll. You can still fail.That's so wrong. The whole idea is to not game it as usual, but provide narrative control to the player. So.Inspiration should definitely not be usable to decide a combat. And I guess it kind of isn't since few combats hinge on a single roll. (If one roll turns defeat into victory, chances are you would have won anyway).Inspiration should definitely give out a success. No reroll, no bonus, just plain "don't roll just succeed".Having said this, we haven't even started discussing the missed opportunity in integrating Inspiration better into the system, particularly the flaws and beliefs and whatnot you chose during chargen.</blockquote>

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